Frozen Kingdom.

• Position: THE BIG PICTURE - International Ice and Snow Festival - Brief article

A city in northeastern China has a great way of dealing with the winter blues. Every January, when temperatures can dip as low as -45 degrees Fahrenheit, Harbin holds the two-month-long International Ice and Snow Festival, where an 8-million-square-foot city made of ice and snow comes to life. This year's highlights include a nearly 1,000-foot-long ice slide, a 160-foot "fairy tower," frozen replicas of famous monuments like London's Big Ben, and wedding ceremonies on ice. The festival has its roots in the centuries-old local tradition of making ice lanterns--hollowed out chunks of ice with candles in them. These days, candles have been replaced by thousands of lights, making the sculptures even more spectacular. At the end of the festival, the ice structures are...